Soccer Games That Get Played in the Dark! And What Happens When the Kids Are in Charge!

Yes, there was a game going on when I shot this! Poor kids! 

That's Better. Gradually the full moon rose under the clouds - and the sun went down on the other side!

Oops.  I shot more moon shots than kid shots.  Nice mix of dirt mound, wheel lines, and housing, eh?

Different Day - Better Light.  There's a ball in the air instead of the moon!

Fall.  The bummer about this time of year and outdoor sports, and living so far up in the Northern Hemisphere is the shorter days.  Our soccer games are played at a Sports Complex - with no outdoor lighting.

Then, you have the ever so brilliant schedule makers, who schedule 6:16 pm games,for our age group (older kids, later bedtimes)  that run 1.25 hours, yet the sunset is 6:28 pm - seriously.  I looked it up just now.

And sunrise?  6:52 am.  I'm sitting here in the dark at home at 6:08 am!

The kids won their 10 am Saturday game yesterday (yeah! And against some amazon Bigger kids. All the other teams have huge monster kids.  This is the age group before High School Soccer.  We are playing the same age group - 10-14,  however, ours are the youngest (you can play up, not down and ours are aged 9-12).    Sami said 'some big fat girl' pushed her down.  Good thing I was not there and a safe 150 miles away in Boise.  I have those mommy instincts.  Killer mommy instincts. I'm sure the big man upstairs deliberately had me elsewhere so I would not have embarrassed my dd, or the coach or the rest of the team - and those parents that watch without saying a peep.  I have fantasy visions of me encouraging my daughter to take her out or say something snarky, like 'excuse me for getting in your way'.  But she did the right thing.  She got up, and walked off and hid her tears!). 

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Speaking of kids... I left at 4am.. all they had to do, was wake up, eat, have their soccer stuff ready and do chores.  I called at 6am to wake them.  And on my second (third?) call, at 6:15am, they were up and moving.  The game was 9:15 am. 

Well.... Something happened during that whole time frame.  Rumor has it (well, reality), that their ride arrived (even a half hour late!) while they were still out in one of the fields changing wheel lines.  Jake was out in the field while Sami ran home and got both of their soccer gear.

Between them, at the game, they had 1 pair of sox, and 3 soccer shoes!  They had to take turns playing!  But they had their jerseys!  And their team still won! 

And, a 'new dog' was at the house when I got home.  While they were doing the morning chores, they had time to find a stray dog, bringt it home, set it up with food and water, and well.. got side tracked!!!


Cute kids. 

And the dog is back with her family:)

Sami's Secret Garden

Bought this Ages Ago!
Found it on the Kitchen Table When I Returned from my trip

Found these on Sami's Bedroom Window Sill
She's not telling what she is growing
Most of these goodies were 'rounded' up from
my stash piles (things to fix, things forgotten)

Fun Stuff!
The painted pot was broken,
(one of those School Mother's Day Gifts from a few years back)
she glued it back together
She found a peat pot to put inside of it
The little greenhouse is from many years ago!
Each of the kids had one
We started seeds for their own little gardens - in 2001?
The yellow pot is what I use to water the Christmas Tree.
Oh.. And one of my Portmeirion dishes, I see!
***********

While I was at my four day training session, my cell phone rang one mid-morning.

I dont' get many calls, and when I do, I worry.. So, there it was, ringing loud. I answered it - apologizing profusely to the instructors, giving the plea 'it's my children', and left the room..

Here's the call:

Sami: Hi Mom!
Me: Hi Sam, what's up? (tinge of worry in voice)
Sami: Where are the seeds?
Me: What seeds?
Sami: The garden seeds! Where are they? You know, flowers?
Me: (Sigh of relief).. In the storage room upstairs... What are you up to?
Sami: Never mind! Bye!

Several of my coworkers were curious about what the heck my daughter was up to! They get to hear all sorts of 'guess what my kids did now' stories.
I then turned the phone off.
Later that afternoon, I had a message from Sami again:

Sami: Mom! Where's the soil? I need soil!!!

So.. I called back and left a message on where the potting soil is.

************

Another Call: Ranch Stuff:
When the workshop was all said and done, I had another message. This time from the Sausage Man. Oh boy. THAT was not a good call! And I wished I did not answer it. It really threw off my 'what a great learning experience' feeling and turned it into a panic.

The sausage man is in Mackay, Idaho, six hours away from us. We meet in Boise to do our 'exchange'. Boise is 3 hours away. Well, his assistant decided to deliver our order on Saturday, to Nampa, Idaho where our other processor is, and apparently he 'forgot' to tell everyone he was coming! the other processor was not open. And no one here knew anything about it.

The Sausage Man was pissed! I told him I was out of town and asked if he called my husband. He said he called, when no one was at the plant, but no one answered at the ranch. Well, if we are 3 hours away, what was he expecting? And on a Saturday? We run a ranch! No one is home during the day! DUDE!

I wish people would just plan these things out! Arrrrr.. Talk like a Pirate Day..

So, our sausages took a tour that day... 10 hours, in all. It better have been frozen!

Arrrrrrrrr.

Some Friday Shares - Boy Love

Jake and I - Hard At Work
The Baker City Farmers Market
Summer 2009
( I love looking at green grass and sunny days when it is white outside!)
Yep.. woke to more snow.

Me! This is One of My Ranch Jobs - April - October
It is my favorite, though.
I sell our meats at Farmers Markets!
Some Wednesdays, Ever Other Friday, All Saturdays
Tuesdays were my Chicken Run Tuesdays
You remember those, don't you?
Hit the road at 5:30 am with our live chickens?
Load them, unload them.
Oy...

My Favorite Photo of the Season!!!!!!
Jake, 10 years old
August, 2009
And, me, his Mamacita - 47 years old.

The Manager from one of 'our' Farmers Markets, the Baker Market, just emailed these photos. I had to share them with you.

She gave a slide show at our Annual Membership Meeting..and these were all in the slide show. I just about cried when I saw the last one...

I love that sweet tender boy face...

And, for my favorite AA - Jake say's he is my 'sonny boy'... Not sure if that is how you spell it. He loved what you said about yours.. He picked up on that special bond...between a Mother and Son...

Oh my lucky lucky heart.

PS. Today is National Wear Red Day

And, I made this for breakfast! Egg production is peaking!

Thanks for visiting!

Favorite Photos! A Fall Family Photo Shoot

The Four of Us - Kneeling

The Girls

The Boys

The Four of Us Standing - And Ernest
Ernest is older than my kids!
He was our first baby.

Us - Now That we are Older
I wanted our 'walking away' photo updated.
(There is a much older photo from when the kids were itty bitty, on the left sidebar, way down!)
I'm not sure this is the best one. The thumbnails are all small!

Sami and Jake Tossing Leaves

On the Fence

So last weekend, on a very very cold Sunday morning, my good friend W. came over and took our family photos.

I am sharing just a few here! Do you have a favorite that you would recommend we put on our Christmas Card?

This started as a 'we need a new family photo' - since our last one was from when the kids were itty bitty, and we have to update our posters and flyers and other things for our meat business. Our meat is now being served at a local University, and they need a poster to showcase us as their local source of grass fed beef!

I also need a new photo of all of us for this year's Christmas card, but most of the time my husband hides from our Christmas photo sessions - or he just takes pictures of the kids and me. Well, the 'we need to update the posters' got him. Now, we are all in the photo!


We took TONS and I can't wait to get them all ordered and put into frames and other projects for my Christmas gifts. I am so excited!

Thanks for looking!

OH... And About that Hair Cut!

Yes... I know I know.. the hair cut was a little crooked!

I know that.

And you know that!

But you know what????

SHE apparently does not know that!!!

It's our little secret, until we get to the professionals for a 'thinning'...

Wink Wink

My Little Skiiers...

The skiers! After Their Ever So Fabulous Day!
Yeah, I'm mean. Look into the sun, kids! Kids?
What do you mean you can't see?
Poor Sami!

Heading Out with the Instructor
Sami and Jake had a 1 hour lesson.. that lasted 2 hours!
Heck what a deal!
Had I known that I would have gone off on my own and met them later!
Next time...

Getting Tips on Their Tips!
OK I made that up.
Beats me what he is saying..
I'm just zooming in and trying to not be the obvious Mother
with the Camera!

OK I Know - This Was Supposed to be Just the kids.
But the instructor just moved right in!!!!

I just wanted to have a photo of them standing up and smiling!-
just in case they didn't - smile or stand, later.
(As in - just in case they take after their accident prone father -
who refuses to go skiing ever again!
Don't ask him about skiing. He tells everyone who asks that I try to kill him when we go.
Dude! I'm not wearing your ski's! You are!)

*****************

This Photo is Just 'Mommy Proof' For My Kids
That Bikes Left Outside Are not Happy Bikes!
(and they are still out there, in the same position, a day later!)

***************

Today was awesome!!

As most of you heard, yesterday a storm came in... All of our Spring cleaning chores and yard play came to a screeching halt! So, I made a nice big pot of lamb stew, and we watched the Twilight movie last night... The kids loved it!

(FYI: I tried to read the first book, but I just could not sink my teeth into it! Ha Ha! Get it? Sorry all you Twilight peeps! I'll just have to catch the flicks.)

Anyway, today we had scheduled on our Spring Stay-Cation list to go skiing! And boy were we lucky dogs! Man, are we good or what???? OH MY WORD! It was absolutely gorgeous! Sunny! And awesome snow! And the kids had the time of their lives!

I have to confess, this was their first time skiing. Horrid, I know. Heck, we live only 17 miles from the resort! But there always seems to be something that has to be done around here that keeps us from playing. Plus we have tons of snow here and can go snowshoeing right out the back 40... or get pulled behind a truck. We are so simple...

Anyway, when it was time to go I had to pull Jake off the hill ... poor kid. He was having so much fun!!!!! He just kept going back for more.

I am so glad they had a great experience!!

You will notice there are no Daddy photos. He refuses to go up to the hill. His ski days are over.


Tomorrow we are off to Boise... It's a meat delivery day... And some play time!

OH yeah baby... Olive Garden here we come! And, Starbucks!
And Archiver's. And Warmer Temperatures!!!

Oh my...
Big City Goodness...

One Happy Camper. :)

UBO: OTAY! Who's 'Ready' to Pea Their Pants????

So! You guys are GREAT at the guessing game! Gotta love ya! I mean, so many super duper close ones - you make me feel like I have, well, a smidgen of baking talent!

And, two of you DID get it!!!!! Keeneye! And Anne! I am so impressed!!!


Are you ready for my ever so embarrassing display of horrid cake making skills (again)????

THIS is what I was trying to make! (Be sure to read the directions - you need a mental picture of WHAT THE HECK I was trying to do!).... followed by what I did, of course....

I'll give you few minutes... Let it really sink in...

.
.
.


Ready?


Let's not forget that THIS is how it turned out!!

OMG... What a trial that was...

Do you watch 24 by any chance? It's one of my faves...

So, for you fans.

The following events occurred between the hours of 3:45 pm and 5:30 pm, Thursday, February 26th. (aka one of the longest 'almost 2 hours' of my life)....

1. It was a long day already... got up at 4 am, as mentioned previously to do the chili, make kid lunches, get ready for work, do outside chores, and split at 7:15 am ... followed by an 'eventful' spat at work... and back home at 3:45 pm...
   
2. After assessing the 'tools' situation, I realized I did not have any food dye in the house! When the heck did I decide to throw out my 20 year old supply????? CRUD!! (the store is 17 miles away, 1 way... can't go down that road!)... So, I took some blue fancy decorating crystals and added water, and added some of that to my white icing... oopsy... a little runny...
   
3. I do have those fancy Pampered Chef glass cooking measuring cups the recipe hinted at... I used a 6 cup one.. no time to mess with the 2 cup and 4 cup.. That was way too many extra building blocks. Then, like a complete Dorkasaurus, I burned my hand because I forgot the thing was HOT sitting on that cooling rack! Hello! There was a handle begging to be held! Note: This is why mixing containers should not be used as cooking containers... It's a mind game.. Same thing happens to Mr. Sexton when he puts salad dressing into an Olive Oil jar - way too much comes out! Expecting different results...
   
4. After I baked the cake I had to speed things up a bit. I mean, the cake was hot, even after I gave it a 10 minute or so ice bath (container within a container) ... When I removed the cake from the bowl, a good chunk of one side remained behind, stuck to the bowl.. oops... a crater!
5. Assembling the ice-cream cone and waffle bowl was just a big fat joke... HELLO! How do you get such perfect sides on those babies????
6. So, I started the decor process anyway ... The icing was slipping down, creating a pool around the thing...I was facing a deadline..after all. One of my precious hours had already passed! No time to just let it all chill!
7. Sami came to my rescue.. She decided we just needed to decorate the crud out of it.. fill the crater and add all the sprinkles ... we really wanted to make the sweet little star and moon cookies and glue them on with icing... sorry, no time! Maybe when we have three days to kill and do it right! And speaking of props, Sami would NOT let me use the wand I made her 2 years ago.. a super cute thing with a star on top - a perfect 'wand' prop that would have been awesome next to the hat cake - she said it was a Princess thingy... not for Wizards... RATS...
   

So, there you have it... My Wizard Hat!

You see, Jake LOVES anything do do with Wizards..He is addicted!

So Keeneye's Harry Potter guess was very very very 'spot on' as well as Anne's RIGHT ON THE NAIL guess!!!

Love all you guys for giving me some cake love....

SWAK

Valentine's Dinner Recap

How Do You eat your Kabobs?
The kids eat them off the stick.
I take everything off and mix it all with my rice!

The Main Course

Dickster Opening His Present

My Mock Olive Garden Salad
Oops! I forgot the olives! And carrots!

The assembled Kabobs.
We each did our own...

Dark Chocolate - Dick Hosted A Tasting Event
We each had our own little plates and Dick gave us a square,
one at a time, to savor.
The winner was the milk chocolate - for the kids and I!

Our Centerpiece
Love M&Ms!
Seriously...
I always have the 'bag of the season' on my scrappy desk.
Dark chocolate. No peanuts.

Another View!

The Drinks

The Dessert!
I love making these!

Oh man... We spent 2 hours at the dinner table last night! It was so much fun!!!!

I decorated the table and put everyone's little love gifts at their spot. The kids got a heart box of goodies, and Mr. S got a 12 cup capacity French Press... (note: it's really 6 cups - we measured!).

We had a toast in the kitchen... We all clinked our special drinks glasses.

Then, everyone built their own lamb kabobs. The kids nabbed most of the pineapple (real, not the canned kind, of course!) Gads. Next year the parents will have to go first through the food line! But oh, were they yummy!!!

Then, we had our salad - my mock Olive Garden salad!

And then... the main course... Kabobs and rice...

After that we did our dark chocolate tasting... we interspersed the taste with the chocolate dipped strawberries! Dang some of that stuff is bitter!

It was a great family night... a real event..

Can't wait to scrap these photos!

I gotta say... I am just Lovin' life...

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I love Valentine's Day...

Always have...

I woke at 4am and worked on a layout for the Hero Arts blog.. It's Valentine's related and I'll share it later... But what an awesome 'private time' moment! The house was quiet until 6am. So it was just me and my papers, inks, gorgeous goodies and fun stuff! Heaven... Oh. And a great cup of coffee! I'll have to do that more often! Seriously. I've been on cloud 9 since! Some endorphins must have gotten released. A scrappin' high, eh?

And, today has just been an awesome day. Every single minute! From the hug I exchanged with my husband in the kitchen to this moment. I love being with my sweet little family and just doing sweet goofy things for and with them!

We have big plans tonight... Just the 4 of us... they involve lots of lit candles, sparkly drinks, lamb kabobs and chocolate dipped strawberries! Oh my! I can't wait!

Sami and I went on a morning delivery... We started out with wrapping gifts for a new baby... 1 week old... and we went and delivered them!!! Oh... I got to hold a 1 week old baby boy. Heaven... Sweetness... Love.

Sami and I also went shopping! Yahoo Just us girls. We got real milkshakes at the Ice-Cream parlor downtown, and equipped her with new duds. She is now 'cowgirled up'. She also purchased a dog collar for Bugs...A valentine's gift. Bugs is the sweet doggy who gets to sneak into the house.



I'll post picture later... gaiter...

I hope you are all having a fabulous, love filled day!

And if you are one of those folks that is just plain dead set on being misserable right now, keep in mind that you gotta give it to get it.

Yes, I do beleive it is a choice.

Flame me. It ain't gonna burn baby, it ain't gonna burn!

xo

Happy Birthday Paulita!

Paula and Me - 1986

Gads. We so need to get together to get some new photos!
Hello! This is 23 years old!!!
Older than her son! Older than my children!
Older than so many things!!!!!!!
We are old.

Another Vintage Photo of Paula, my little sis

My little sis Paula is celebrating one of her 4o something birthdays... Don't know if I'm allowed to share her age, but rest assured she is younger than my 46 years, and we are roughly, oh, 3.5 years apart!

She lives near St. Louis, MO.

I miss her.

She is a sweetie pie. She has spent the majority of her life doing things for others, you know the drill - cook, clean, scrub, do your dirty work while you sit on the couch and watch TV. She GIVES to her church, her work, and GOD knows who or what else... (hello! Take a break, will ya?)

She has always has been my little sis and my partner in certain crimes and secrets. I love her dearly. And we so need to make more crimes and secrets together!!! We are WAY over due!!!

Tonight she is having dinner with her only child, so hopefully he will treat her with respect and for once, pay for her dinner and buy her a gift and treat her the same way she has treated him all these years. As in Spoiled!

(Are you reading this Andrew??? Your 17 for crying out loud! Do something for your MOTHER for once, will ya? It's not all about you!)...

OK, my duty as the big sister and God Mother are now complete. That kid needs a huge whack upside his 'what's in it for me' head.

Happy Birthday Little Sis.

And just say 'no'. Or better yet, say 'there's the door, Pal!'.

(I do believe this is the exact same advice she gave me - yesterday????)

Tee he!
Love ya baby.

Recap of Eleven-Tween

Do YOU know this girl?
Here she is, little miss Eleven-Teen
All decked out in her new duds from G. Grace

Vampin'
Or Scampin'
Or Saturday Night Feverin'

Oh, and Let's Not Forget the Office Supplies Wish List!
This girl asked for office supplies for her birthday.
I see a trend toward playing with paper, punches, ink, etc.
It's addicting.
I know.
Auntie Paula is sending office supplies...
And she cracked up when she heard the request.

Headin' to School With Cupcakes!
Yes, it's dark.
We walk down the drive at 6:30 am.
Look out your window at 6:30 am.
Tell me, what do you see?

A Digital Camera!
Thanks G. Pat!!!

Sami turned Eleven-Tween on January 5th.. yep. You heard me. Eleven-Tween... See her? There's no denying that girl is not a babe anymore... Look at that bundle of gorgeousness!!!

So, normally,Jan. 5th would have been the kids first day back to school after their EVER SO LONG Christmas break... But we had a huge ol' storm so school was closed. Highways were closed. And there was no gettin' out of dodge. No mommy escape routes. Dang.

We had Sami's party that night. Lots of fun! Her favorite foods were served (Buffalo Drums, shrimp). The oreo cookie cake was a hit. And her gifties. She is getting a custom rabbit hutch in addition to all you saw above, as well as earings from Auntie Avis, a sweet gift from Great Auntie Alice, and lots of office supplies.

The classroom cupcakes had to go to school a day late, another snowy day, but alas, no wind, and thus no drifts...and my escape route was opened! Yahoo!

Visitors - On the Grand Scale

The Grands
Seated: Hank Sexton and Jake Sexton
Standing: Dick, Sami and Georgia Sexton
(the outlaw is taking the photos.. )

The Backyard Dining Room
Thursday Night. Ah..

Sami and Grandma Georgia
Searching for Sami's Goat, Betty

Sami - With One of the Latest Puppies!
Yep. Here we go again!

*******

OK.. So last Monday, on the day of Cycle Oregon, I got a call on my cell phone while out at 'the sight'...


Me: Hello?

Caller: Hi Andi, It's Sherry! (my sister-in-law )

Me: Hi Sherry! (Surprised. She only calls about 3 times a year)

Sherry: So Mom and Dad are here and wanted to know if they could come visit you guys?

Me: Sure! When?

Sherry: Oh, they are thinking of heading your way tomorrow!

Me: Sure! Sounds great! Can you have them call Dick tonight? It's kind of hectic right now, I'm helping our school by feeding 2,300 cyclists!

Sherry: OH! Ok!

Click.
Click.

So... my in-laws came on Wednesday (instead of Tuesday). Dick informed me that they were coming and he had talked with them. They stayed until Friday morning.. Their arrival was perfect, I got to clean house (oh boy) and mow the lawn just before they arrived. Yet, the visit was very brief and fast. I would have liked to get more mileage out of the clean bedrooms, bathrooms, dusting and mowing! (Yes, I am being snarky)...

Wednesday they arrived at 3pm... and I took my mother-in-law with me to get the kids from school, and then to the soccer game that the kids won! It was very exciting. The Men folk stayed home and drank. Two peas in a pod I might add. (That is another story)... Then it was dinner, and bed.

Thursday night my husband (the SON of the two visiting guests) LEFT. ALL DAY. The in-laws also left on an adventure.. which was fine..I was stressing anyway. That night was our dinner outdoors.. Always a treat.

But, Friday morning they left.. pooh.

Now, why would they leave on the only day that the kids are at home? A relaxing day? The kids don't have school on Fridays... And, to top it off, they split while Sami was out in the field feeding Jessie... They did not wait...she did not get to say goodbye and she was upset. I don't get it.

Sigh...
There are of course other things I could write here.. But, no. It's not appropriate.

So, how about that puppy?

Just Little Ol' Me....

My kids are back at school.

No one is here at home but little ol' me.. It's quiet.

We had dinner at 'the table' last night (instead of with the TV and a movie) and sadly said goodbye to our summer.. Ribs, potato salad and corn for the menu... Table dinners are mandatory during school. No TV nights unless it's Friday or Saturday.

Kids went to bed at 8:30pm, instead of 9, or 9:30 or 10pm. All bathed, clothes out for school, soccer stuff ready at the door. Tonight it will be 8pm. Back to normal.

I got up at 4am. Got the kitchen ready. Put out the kids juice and fresh fruit (those organic peaches!). Dick made breakfast when he got up at 5:30... oatmeal, eggs.

Woke the kids at 5:40am. They got dressed.

Sami fed her calf. We both did outdoor chores. With 29 degree weather!

Loaded them up in the car at 7:10am and took them to school.

Did the first day of school routine. Chatted with other moms, kids, teachers, staff. Took some photos.

Here's My Favorite Part:
I happily terrorized the new cook . Yes, I am evil, but I have a bone to pick and it's a big one! (Remember, I am a real food advocate and despise the school food program). This will be an interesting year - I met her earlier at the Farmers Market when she was sharing her 'I'm so excited to be the new food services director' speal. Yep. That's right. She's the new Director. She mentioned she was moving to our little town. And, I recalled reading in the paper that they were going to have her 1/2 time cooking, 1/2 time directing... When I 'heard' the news that our beloved sweet cook was going elsewhere, I had a hunch that the district was up to something... Turns out my hunch was right!

When I introduced myself to Mrs. Food Service Director for the Entire School District (at the market) it was in response to the newspaper article that said the district was interested in getting local foods into the kids meals, to cut costs of course. Nothing to do with a healthier diet. 'Hi there, I sell local meat, and would love to help out', I said. She gave me some song and dance about the Government contracted food program - ground beef comes from California, and how she wishes she could do something local but gosh darlin' we have to buy that stuff! I also gave her the 'I can't stand that chocolate or strawberry 2 percent water they call milk' talk too.. Let's have real milk!

Anyway, this morning I reintroduced myself.. 'Remember me? We met at the farmers market! My friend (BFF Michelle was at my side) here and I are active moms and we will be helping you in anyway we can'. (There is a God... Bwah ha ha)... The principal had submitted my name along with a few others for membership on a Food Services related committee for the district.

Today, Mrs. Food Service Director For the Entire School District was real flustered because she did not know how to turn on the dish washer. Hmm... no homework prep, eh? Oh.. And are those canned peaches I see? I'll have to clue her in on the local organic orchard.

A new school year is upon us...

A Recap of Mr. Sexton's Birthday, and Sniff... So Long Our Beautiful Summer!

Birthday Card for my Husband
Dick's Birthday was Saturday.
We all took the day off and had a grand play day.
See? Life.. Nothing else matters.

My Crew
First we went to the Baker City Farmers Market,
as shoppers instead of sellers!
Boy, was that fun!! Really.. To just stroll.
We toured an organic orchard.
And came home with lots of fruit!
Peaches, pears, apricots and plums.
We saw a praying mantis, ate at a greasy spoon cafe,
took a dirt road loop and saw some cool old buildings,
came home for a nap.
Then, drove for an hour to go to one of our favorite restaurants,
which was closed.
Then went to another restaurant, and had a fabulous dinner!
Funny, it was right in Haines.
Whoda thunk?
Then home to open gifts.
Mr. Sexton scored.

Here the kids are inspecting a motorized apple press
Sami got her head wacked shortly after this shot

Jake - Totally Diggin' the Tour
See that heavy metal handle?
Sami, was not a happy camper.
She got her head a little too close
when the 'demo' with the crank smacked her in the temple.
Ouch!

Sami's Gift to her Daddy
I love this sweet gift.
It captures Sami and her daddy perfectly.
Sami picked it out and bought it all by herself.
At Hallmark.
But we made our cards.
Because, that is what we do!

****************

Sigh....

Today is our last glorious day of summer vacation. And, ol' Mother Nature is being a sassy little thing! It's been super chilly in the morning, breezy all day, cold at night. This morning it was 35 degrees... Only three degrees from a hard frost! Rats... It's officially turning to fall here in our world.

We had a lovely short stint of summer... even though the kids could not recollect what they did, I gave them a run down of their very busy and active summer... It went something like this:

• Learning to saddle a horse all by themselves and riding almost daily
• Moving hand lines and irrigating (summer job)
• Going to the Farmers Markets with their mom
• Bowling (instead of the water park, because it rained!)
• Camp outs in the backyard - 2 for Jake, 3 for Sami
• Backyard campfires... I forget how many, 5? 6?
• Picnic on Fathers Day at the Creek
• Having our friends over for a lamb kabob BBQ and campfire, only to have a huge thunderstorm and we ate inside by candles and lanterns
• Touring the Organic Orchard in Richland, Oregon (1 1/2 hours away)
• Walks with Patchie
• Real French Toast, Huckleberry Waffles, Scones and Lemon Curd
• Sami's new love for Chai Tea on a cold morning (non caffeine)
• Staying up late (9pm, 9:30 pm, 10pm)
• A record crop of bummer lambs
• A bummer calf
• New puppies
• A few sleepovers

So... even though we never officially went on a vacation, we managed to make the best of it, right here at home and in our own stomping grounds.

School starts tomorrow, along with the soccer routine and school volunteering scene.

I am already stressed about our first school fundraising project - our PTCO is serving lunch to 2,500 cyclists (the pedal variety) for Cycle Oregon, a week from today. Guess who opened her big mouth and said she would organize all of us? That would be me...

Someone please, scratch my eyes out and make me mute so I don't volunteer for anything soon..

So, it will be an early to bed night for the kids and a shock of a morning wake up call. 5:45 for the kids... OH.. Guess I am back to the morning chores.. Dang..

Off to make some phone calls, and twist some arms... aka recruiting more help!

Uh, What Do You Mean the Mouse is Gone???

OK.. remember the other day I came home to a new house guest... as in a mouse in the house?

The mouse was a field mouse, caught outside and brought into the house.... go figure...

NOT my idea of the perfect guest... I have had cats brought into the house deliberately to catch such beasts!

So, this morning, before my adventure to Pendleton, I decided to take a peak at Despereaux...

Well, well, well....

There he was, hanging by his front paws with his twitchy nose sticking out of the container, just moments from his big escape.... I am so darn certain of it.

So, I enabled him to the great outdoors...

Free! He's free! Back to the big world of fresh air and wide open spaces and snacks at his whisker tips (and cats, and dogs)...

Unfortunately, my daughter is not on the same page as me on this one... She doesn't believe he was on his way to his big escape. And, she does not agree that she and her brother were neglecting him - as I pointed out (as in, 'you can't just stick him in a box and not feed him! He'll starve to death!)...

So right now I am not the Favorite Best Mom on the planet...

I am the Mean Nasty Mom... This is a fact. I saw my daughter writing in her diary, which is for very big emotional occasions...

Hey, I freed the poor little guy! I think I should be a hero!

Sigh...

Just another day in mommy's hood.

I'm Back - And the Bad News Report!

Hmm.. Notice a little something here? We have two burn barrels - one that is retired and waiting to go to the dump and the other, behind the first, which is used for burning. It's meant for burning things INSIDE the barrel, not outside, as in NOT the lawn.

What's This?? A crisp patch on my ever so golden lawn? Wow that's a huge patch, eh? And how about that wood rail fence just 2 feet from the burn area, eh? Yeah, the fence that goes around that there shed, and to the stacks of hay in back, then around the yard, and basically, everywhere!

Oh, and it keeps getting bigger, and bigger! Note the tractor for scale.

Looks like that snow patch kept the fire from traveling toward MY house!

So, after a couple days of pure scrap booking Nirvana (aka, nonstop nose to the grindstone scrap booking!) along with daily doses of Java (which I only drink when I travel - wink!) I arrived home to quite the drama scene...

Here's how it all played out.

1. The girl's 'van' pulls up to the house to deliver me safe and sound to my family.
2. Darling Son is right there.. He pulled a stealth attack. As in he snuck up right behind me and surprised me with a big cheesy grin followed by a big cheesy hug.
3. Darling Son has an interesting look on his face. Soon Darling Daughter is at his side.
   
4. They both offer to bring in my 1,000 pound luggage pieces (actually 5 lbs for my clothing bag, 500 each for 2 scrap book bags).
5. I get suspicious. Think to myself 'OH, they love me and missed me so!', but then my mommy instincts kick in and whisper 'something happened while you were gone'.
6. Then, they announce their news... "We have some bad news and some good news"
7. First the 'so called' good news: "We have a knight!". Translation: They caught a field mouse and it is now residing in my lovely house.. ACK. Their father allowed this. Oh.. the mouse is a Knight because we read Despereaux together... A cute book... So the mouse is now called Despereaux.
   
8. Now for the bad news: "We had a fire."
   

I'm sorry, did you say fire???

OK.. So let's discuss #8 shall we? The actual details are that my ever so handsome and sometimes not very 'on the ball' husband (translation: clueless!) let our son play with matches without adult supervision (this usually occurs when he doesn't listen to his father instincts - and trust me, father instincts are a whole different dimension than mommy instincts - I could write a book just on my own experiences. The main gist is that fathers believe that if at the end of the day, if the kids are still alive, then everything is just fine! No grey areas).

Well, maybe 'playing with matches' is a stretch. He actually let Jake go out and burn the paper trash on his own.. without checking to see if everything was up to code... so the result my friends, is the beautiful torched area you see in the photos above... My BOYS are so darn lucky the fence didn't catch on fire (which goes around the entire yard and ties into fences along the property which borders 2 1/2 miles of the highway!), or that the buildings didn't catch fire, or that we still have a home, livestock, a ranch and friendly neighbors! Gads... Men folk...

I researched the entire operation.. turns out the top of the trash was 'above' the burn barrel, as in gee, it falls out when it burns. Men. Sigh. See? No supervision. If my husband had looked at the trash first, then given the AOK then perhaps this would not have happened... Or say, if he would have just watched my son light the fire, then say, stayed outside to keep an eye on the burning of my yard, then perhaps the patch would only be say, 1 foot square, rather than 1/4 of an acre...

So. I'm not sure what is worse. Having a wild mouse living in the house, a torched yard, or the third offense... that the kids never bathed while I was gone! Disgusting!!!!

Things definitely are run differently when I am not here to keep on eye on everyone.

But heck.. I was scrap booking! What do I care!

I'll share photos of my latest creations later...